COLUMBIANA COUNTY, Ohio - Despite the wet spring in the valley, the recent dry weather left Columbiana County in a severe drought. 

21 News Chief Meteorologist Eric Wilhelm said that August was Ohio’s driest on record, and locally, August 2025 goes into the record books as Columbiana County’s driest ever. 

In fact, the county is now under a severe drought D2 intensity, according to the National Weather Service. 

With the drought only expected to worsen, how is this affecting those in the valley?

As for the look of the county, patches of brown are spread across farms.

As for farmers, Craig Mercer, owner of Catalpa Grove Farm, said this means more labor, and higher costs to run his farm's irrigation system.

“It's just a case of the time it takes, and the cost of the diesel fuel to run the pumps,” said Mercer. “It’s strange because in the spring, the issue is too much water and then it went from too much water to not enough.”

During this dry weather, the Columbiana Health District is offering tips to save on water for those who rely on well water.

For starters, those with the health district are recommending homeowners who rely on wells to start conserving water.

“If you start to notice that your water is discolored, if you start to see air in the lines, some spitting or sputtering, those are keys that you may be low on water,” said Laura Fauss, Public Information Officer for the Columbiana Health District.

Fauss said despite this risk, there are ways homeowners can navigate through the drought.

“Monitoring how much water you are using, so maybe not running 100 loads over the weekend of laundry, going to the laundromat if you need to, just trying to spread that water usage out is a really good tip. Another thing is [to] look for leaks. Your toilet might be running, things like that,” said Fauss.

If too much water is used at once during the drought, and you have well water, Fauss said you could run out.

“You might need to install a temporary hot water storage tank if you are really out of water temporarily. You might need to alter your well , where you can drill deeper. There's a couple different options. Hoping that we will get some rain and we won't have to do anything,” said Fauss.

The Ohio Department of Health has a list of registered contractors on their website. Fauss said people who have any questions or concerns can reach out to the Columbiana Health District.